In 1938 artists of Mexico City’s Taller de Gráfica Popular (TGP; People’s Print Workshop) watched with great concern as civil war raged in Spain and Europe barreled toward World War II. The TGP’s anti-fascist anxieties are encapsulated in this image by Leopoldo Méndez. A menacing figure strides over a burning town. His legs have been replaced by a pair of rifles with bayonets that pierce the smoldering buildings, and his arms are cannons from which flags emerge. The Nazi swastika is visible on the left flag and the right flag bears a fasces (a bundle of sticks), a symbol of Italian fascism under Benito Mussolini (1883–1945). While the flags obscure the figure’s face, his top hat and coattails are visible, connecting him to the wealthy class of industrial leaders and identifying fascism and imperialism as equal threats to freedom.

Printed on a thin, colored, machine-made paper, this print is typical of TGP volantes (flyers), which were meant to be created quickly and distributed in large quantities to help disseminate messages and publicize events.